Friday, January 10, 2014

FOX "News" Tries to Change the Story from Christie

FOX "News" is in a bit of a trick bag, news cycle-wise. They wanted to make it all about Robert Gates' Duty book (sounds like "doody" in news reports, which is hilarious). But then Bridgegate, Chris Christie's own personal scandal hit. And FOX is torn on Christie. Sean Hannity seems to despise the guy, but Christie could also be the nominee in 2016, should he survive this scandal. So, when the story broke, FOX "News" only spent the barest minimum of time on it.

But the story--which conservatives obviously hoped to spin as a trifle--isn't going away. What to do? Change the subject! Just this morning, Eric Holder announced that the federal government would recognize the marriages already performed in Utah during the short window where same-sex couples could marry. This isn't particularly noteworthy beyond the people affected. The federal government already recognizes the marriages of everyone else in the country, and these particular marriages have not been nullified by Utah, they're just in limbo. This was a clarification by the federal government, and not much more. But to FOX "News"? It's FRONT PAGE NEWS! And check out the next three, which includes BENGHAZI!!! but no Christie.

No, Benghazi, ObamaCare and Fast and Furious were all STORIES, they just weren't what the right made them out to be. Benghazi was an attack that happened TO us, not a scandal. ObamaCare had a rocky rollout, but is the law of the land, and should be tweaked and prodded and pulled into shape as necessary to make it better. And Fast and Furious seems like a really bad plan, a continuation of a Bush Era plan, that was shut down by Eric Holder, utlimately.

But these three stories have become SCANDALS! that go straight to the top! And they become news-cycle spackle between other outrages. Until a new favorite story bubbles up, and then they go away, only to return as needed. So, no, they're not non-stories. They're just beat to death (particularly ObamaCare, which I will be very happy to call the ACA again, once Republicans tire of calling it after Obama.

But the Christie storie? Not a non-story. Still going, still drip-drip-dripping, still really a problem for him.